(Alliance News) - Rentokil Initial PLC on Thursday lifted its payout for the first half of 2022, as the group delivered a robust performance for the period on strong demand and customer retention, in spite of increased cost inflation.
For the six months ended June 30 the Surrey-headquartered hygiene and pest control firm reported pretax profit of GBP161.9 million, up 7.8% at GBP148.8 million the same period a year before.
This was on revenue which grew 8.1% year-on-year to GBP1.57 billion from GBP1.45 billion. On a constant currency basis, Rentokil saw a revenue rise of 5.1%.
The group's Pest Control performed well over the period, with a 16% increase in revenue to GBP1.09 billion, with demand for services remaining strong, good price progression and customer retention increasing to 85.4% from 84.3% a year prior.
Rentokil declared an interim dividend of 2.4 pence per share, up 15% from 2.1p a year prior.
Looking ahead, with momentum maintained by its topline, Rentokil said it expects to achieve further good progress in the second half of the year, as it continues to target the completion of its acquisition of Terminix Global Holdings Inc by the third quarter of 2022.
In December, Rentokil had announced the deal to buy, Memphis, Tennessee-based pest control firm Terminix for USD6.7 billion in cash and shares, and gained US antitrust approval for the deal in March.
"The nature of our business model remains a key determinant of the strength and resilience of our performance. As a global operation that benefits from highly defensive product and service lines, the company is well placed to navigate macro-economic and geopolitical volatility. In the first half, the topline has sustained strong momentum. We've been successful in proactively managing cost inflation through pricing to protect margin, while continuing to drive margin improvements through delivery on our strategy," said Chief Executive Officer Andy Ransom.
Shares in Rentokil Initial were up 3.1% at 517.80 pence on Thursday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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Rentokil Initial (RTO)